CHINA’S LEAPMOTOR ISN’T yet a well-known brand in Europe, but given that it has the powerhouse of Stellantis behind it, there’s plenty to suggest that it can succeed here. We’ve already driven its T03 electric city car and C10 electric SUV, and by year’s end the latter will gain a range-extender option in the UK.
In this new powertrain, badged REEV, a 1.5-litre petrol engine is used as a generator for a 28.4kWh battery that powers a 212bhp permanent magnet synchronous motor at the rear axle (and can also be plugged in to charge).
The benefits of such a system over a plug-in hybrid one, says Leapmotor, is better efficiency, better environmental credentials and an impressively long range – up to 90 miles using the electric motor only or 603 miles in total.